A Dismal Performance - B7 in The Weakest Link

(Transmitted on Terran Federation Channel One, one year prior to The Way Back:)

PRESENTER: And now it's time for The Weakest Link, the longest running vizcast
quiz of the Galaxy, presented by Ann Crusher. Watch and shiver!

[Shot of nine people sitting on couches and sipping drinks from large glasses.
A curly haired man is talking earnestly with a large, plain looking man and a
very thin woman with dark curly hair. A young man with flashing teeth is
chatting with a short-haired, black girl. Two blond women, one with long
straight hair and the other with shoulder-length curls, are entertained by a
small man of non-descript appearance and shifty manner, who is showing them a
card-trick. A dark-haired man with an arrogant face sits pointedly ignoring the
others.]

PRESENTER: [Voice over]: Here are today's nine players, preparing for the show
where just one of them will bring home the prize money of up to ten thousand
Credits. The rest will leave with nothing, as their team mates vote them The
Weakest Link.

[Close-up of quiz-master Ann, a lady of stern appearance with short red hair and
a forbidding stare.]

ANN: Welcome to The Weakest Link. Any of the nine people in the studio here
today could win up to ten thousand Credits. They don't know each other,
however, if they want the prize money, they'll have to work as a team. But,
eight of them will leave with nothing as round by round we lose the player voted
The Weakest Link. Let's meet the team.

[The nine players now stand on the podium in a semicircle. In front of each is
a console with the contestant's name on it and a blank space beneath the name.
Ann, her slim figure dressed in black, stands just outside the half circle,
facing them.]

CONTESTANT ONE: My name's Tarrant. I'm 22 years old, a student at the
Federation Space Academy where I've come top of my class three times in a row.

CONTESTANT TWO: I'm Cally, a 29 year old communication specialist from Auron.

CONTESTANT THREE: I'm Gan, I'm 35 and I work as a paramedic at the Second Level
Hospital.

ANN: Get your question wrong and you break the chain and lose all the money in
that chain.

[On the scoreboard the number 20 is again highlighted.]

ANN: But, if you say "Bank!" before the question is asked, the money is safe.
However, you start a new chain from scratch. Remember that at the end of the
round, only money that has been banked can be taken forward. In round one there
are three minutes on the clock. We'll start with the person whose name is first
alphabetically. That's you, Avon. Let's play The Weakest Link.

[Rousing music.]

* * * * * * * * *

ANN: The first question is for twenty Credits. Start the clock! Avon, what is
the shortest distance between two points?

AVON: [Looks utterly bored.] A straight line.

[On the scoreboard the light jumps from 20 to 50. It will continue to jump one
place further up at each correct answer.]

ANN: Correct. Dayna, which popular group was top of the charts with "Why
should I care?"?

[The light on the scoreboard drops back to 20 while the number 150 appears in
the score box.]

ANN: What planet would you be on if you were paying in Zoks?

JENNA: Zerok.

ANN: Correct. Avon-

AVON: Bank.

[The light on the scoreboard drops back to 20 while the number 170 appears in
the score box.]

ANN: What T is the name of a huge ocean wave?

AVON: [Taps his console.] Tsunami.

ANN: Correct. Dayna, in fashion, what is a Rocker?

DAYNA: A collar?

[The light on the scoreboard drops from 50 to 20.]

ANN: A dress leaving one shoulder bare. Vila, what is the hardest known
substance in the galaxy?

VILA: Diamonds.

[Music indicates end of round.]

ANN: Round's over. The correct answer is feldon. And in this first round,
team, you had eight correct answers in a row. If you'd banked sensibly, you
could have reached your 1000 Credit target. As it is, you only managed to put a
dismal 170 Credits into the kitty! Who is letting you down? Who is too stupid
to be here? Time to vote off the Weakest Link.

* * * * * * * * *

[Music while the contestants type in the names on their consoles.]

PRESENTER: [Voice Over:] The strongest link is Avon, who not only got all of
his questions right but also banked the most money. The Weakest Link is Gan,
but how will the votes go, so early in the game?

ANN: Voting over. Time to reveal who you think is the Weakest Link.

[One for one the contestants name their choice while at the same time the name
mentioned appears below their own on their console.]

ANN: Well, that's one calculation you did get right. Soolin, how is it going
for you?

SOOLIN: Pretty well, I got all my questions right.

ANN: Why Gan?

SOOLIN: Because he got his questions wrong and he didn't bank.

ANN: Two good reasons. Avon, you're not happy to be here?

AVON: It's a total waste of my time and abilities.

ANN: Then why burden us with your presence?

AVON: I was appointed to represent the department - one of the drawbacks of
having an above-average intelligence.

ANN: You certainly seem to have an above-average self-esteem. Why Gan?

AVON: He lost us 800 Credits and he's far too dim to be of any use.

ANN: Well, it certainly looks that way. Gan, the team wants to be rid of you.
You were the worst player and with eight votes you are the Weakest Link.
Goodbye.

[GAN leaves the platform.]

[Close up of Gan.]

GAN: I can't blame them, really. I mean, I was the weakest link. I think
Tarrant will be voted off next, because for a bright lad he isn't performing all
that well. I mean, that sum was dead easy! I'd like Blake to win, he seems a
nice guy.